


Bulking Up

by Penkindisbestspecibus



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Amputation, Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Body Image, Body Modification, Game Shows, Gen, Horror, Inflation, It's the Flesh, It's the Stranger, Loss of Limbs, what do you expect other than horrible visceral body horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:00:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24198619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penkindisbestspecibus/pseuds/Penkindisbestspecibus
Summary: Statement of Meixiang Li, regarding a game show she participated in, and the disappearance of Chionye Adebayo.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	Bulking Up

_ Statement of Meixiang Li, regarding a game show she participated in, and the disappearance of Chionye Adebayo. Original statement given July 15th, 2010. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London. _

_ Statement _ _begins_.

* * *

I was thrilled, you know, when I got the news. They sent me a letter, on official stationery and everything. I called to make sure it was real - not the number on the letter, I'm not an idiot. It's important to me that you understand that I took every precaution. I did my research. I've seen enough Current Affairs and read enough stories to be wary of being scammed, but everything seemed legitimate. How could it all have been a lie?

It was an invitation to a game show, the pilot episode. 'Build A Body' they called it. The premise was something about contestants getting the chance to build the perfect body, with a million pounds as the prize. If I had known… well, it just sounded like a bit of kooky fun at the time. How could I have known?

But I verified everything, crossed my t's, dotted my i's, and then I called the number and went through the application process. A lady called Janet did the interview. She asked me some questions, like what was my name, what did I do for a living. Basic stuff. Then she started asking about my body. What was my favourite part of my body? What was my  _ least _ favourite? I figured it was just part of the theme, and I answered. I was always proud of my legs, you know. Now they're… well.

I went home, and a week later, they gave me a call back. I'd been selected. I was thrilled.

I wasn't the only one chosen, but I was slated to go second. The first one was this young man, couldn't have been older than twenty. A little on the thin side, piercings in his lip. I disapproved, I'll admit, it was my knee jerk reaction. He said his name was… Chionye? Am I spelling that right? I don't know. It's… I wonder if anyone will miss him. I wonder, if I disappeared, would anyone miss me.

The third person was an older woman. She looked very serious, introduced herself as Samantha White, shook our hands. She seemed very… abrupt. I didn't get to know them at all, and sometimes I wonder if that was a mistake.

We were all told to take our seats, in those little egg-shaped chairs, and I remember looking out at the audience and seeing a bunch of expectant faces looking back… but now that I think about it, I don't know if I saw any bodies. Just… just faces. I didn't notice at the time, too busy being nervous, wondering how I was going to do - what we were going to have to do.

Then the light came on saying we were recording, and then the Host came on. It's odd, what you notice in hindsight, but I don't think they ever introduced him… he had this big grin on his face that made my cheeks hurt just looking at it, and the kind of usual voice you'd expect from a stereotypical game host. It occurred to me at the time that it was odd that I'd never seen him - you know game show hosts are always part of the same people, and if they aren't, they're usually already on TV in some way, but no. He was completely unfamiliar to me, except in the sense that he was painfully familiar, like deja vu. I chalked it up to the fact that he seemed so… stereotypical, although he was a little off. I remember wondering how he got his teeth so perfectly shaped… but now I wonder how he had so many to begin with.

He started talking to Chionye, asked him to step up to the podium. Introducing him, asking him the same questions we'd already answered. Chionye said he was most proud of his skin, and I couldn't blame him. It was very… smooth. It looked soft too, and it was inspiring in a way to hear him take pride in it, especially with the kind of atmosphere we have nowadays. His least favourite part though, he claimed was his muscles. Said he always wanted to become stronger, bigger, more manly.

The Host nodded, still grinning that painful grin, and said… "Well, you're in luck Chionye! Here on 'Build A Body', you'll get the chance to do just that! So! Let's begin with the first round!"

They'd explained the rules to us earlier. It was sort of like a quiz show. You spin a wheel to select a body part, and the more questions you answer, the more 'mass' that body part earns. Answer incorrectly, you lose mass. They spun the wheel, and it landed on left arm. I remember seeing the counter light up. 3108, it said. I wasn't sure why it was starting there at first. I realise now it was the weight of Chionye's arm, down to the gram.

"First question," the Host said, "for one hundred grams. What is the name of the upper bone in the arm? I'll give you a hint: it's the funny bone."

Chionye was a student, but he was studying something about physiotherapy, and so he knew the answer immediately. "The Humerus," he said.

The Host was… he was grinning so wide I wondered how his face didn't rip. "Correct!" he said, and it went on. Chionye answered all five questions for the topic, and they asked him if he wanted to continue or 'bulk up'. I figured that was just a term for banking his winnings. Of course he did. He was doing so well. Every question, he answered. I thought he was going to win the grand prize from the get go, but he started to falter on the head questions.

"What functions does the amygdala perform in the brain?"

He didn't know. There was a sad trombone noise. The Host asked him a few more questions, about some other parts of the brain and the skull but he couldn't answer. He was disappointed, we could tell, but if only he knew what was about to happen, perhaps he would've… gotten out whilst he could.

"I'm afraid that means you're out, Chionye. But don't worry, you'll get to keep the mass you've won - so it's time to bulk up!"

This is where it gets… truly terrible. Nothing happened at first, that we could tell, but I realised that Chionye was alarmed by something. Then he started to… to swell. Arms, legs, all of him. Like a balloon, almost, but not quite as even or comical. It was his muscles, I realise now, all of them growing and swelling. Swelling too much. He'd won too much.

I didn't realise the human body could… do that. The sight of everything ripping and the noises it made it was all… to say he 'popped' like a balloon would be wrong. It was more like a melon exploding from within, muscles and tendons bursting out of his skin. All the while, the audience was clapping and the Host just kept grinning, like it was all part of the show.

I felt the blood against my skin. I could smell it. I saw the terror in Chionye's eyes, I saw him try to scream.

Then it was my turn. I don't know why I walked up to the podium. I was so shocked, everything in me had just… turned off. I thought it was all some terrible nightmare, and I'd wake up any moment The Host asked me the same introductory questions, but I couldn't answer. The Host didn't seem to pay attention. He just… kept going.

They spun the wheel. Left Leg. I remember the Host clapping as some lights came on, and a klaxon blared. "Oh, that means it's a mirror match, ladies and gentlemen! We'll be playing for BOTH legs! So, Margaret, ready for your first question?"

I shook my head. He didn't care.

He asked me a question, and I didn't answer. I couldn't even tell you what the question was, my mind was just… replaying Chionye's last moments. It kept going. I remember thinking… what happens if I answer correctly? What happens if I don't? By the time I started to come out of my shock, it was too late. I'd already lost all the mass.

"I'm so sorry, Meixiang, but that means you're out! I'm afraid it's time to… slim down!"

It hurt. It hurt in a way that I can't describe, not quite burning, not quite freezing, not quite stabbing or ripping or tearing. But I felt it, in my legs, this single moment of agony, and then I clutched onto the podium as I realised my legs were just… gone. Completely. No blood, or any lingering pain or ache, just… gone.

I'm not even sure how I got back into my chair, but all I could remember was staring at my… my hips. Where my legs used to be, where they HAD to be, where they couldn't have just disappeared without a trace.

I didn't even watch what happened to Samantha. I remember hearing the audience clapping, the Host… just going on and on.

The show ended, and I was escorted out. I still hadn't really registered that this was real, still convinced myself it was a terrible nightmare. Samantha was… different. She was uneven, now, lopsided. Parts of her body had grown, others had shrunk. The result was uncanny, in an unsettling way. She seemed… pleased though. They gave us a card, asked us if we'd like to compete next week, she said. I had a card in my hand, but I can't remember when it was given to me. She wanted to go back. Said she could do with some toning.

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. I must've sat there for hours until someone found me, asked me what happened to my wheelchair. Why I was wearing a skirt, if I had nothing underneath.

I'm a vegetarian now.

* * *

_Statement ends._

_A nightmarish game show. On further research, a young man by the name of Chionye Adebayo was reported missing seven days after this statement was filed. According to the police reports Tim managed to access, his landlord attempted to pay him a visit when he failed to pay his rent on time only to find everything abandoned. There was a letter on the kitchen counter, informing him that he'd been selected for the 'Build A Body' game show, which is the only evidence, outside of Miss Li's statement, that the game show existed at all._

_Of course, all attempts to inquire about it at the BBC have been rebuffed. They have explained themselves quite thoroughly to the police that there was no such game show and never had been, and that they had no records of any of this. Miss Li filed an incident report with the police, but I do not believe it went anywhere at all, even if she was unable to explain what happened to her legs._

_Martin was able to convince Miss Li to give a follow up statement, but all she was willing to provide were copies of the X-ray's. I'm not a medical professional by any means, but there does not seem to be anything out of the ordinary with them. How verifiable they are, I'm less certain of._

_Normally, I'd dismiss this as a strange fever dream cooked up by someone desperate for attention, but Sasha tracked down her social media information. A photo posted just ten days before her statement shows her reclining on a chair, lifting up a single, very real leg in the mirror._

_End recording._


End file.
